Cane car and the like



July 3, 1934. D, DRAVQ 1,964,777

CANE CAR AND THE LIKE Filed April 14, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 9 T c l T' ,%.1-

INVENTOR.

:ATTORNEY J y 1934. H. D. DRAVO CANE CAR AND THE LIKE Filed April 14, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

A TTORNEY Patented July 3, 1934 UNITED" sTA-rs sf man-r caries 7 1,964,777 CANE are arm H LIKE Hudson 13. mm), Manila, 'Philippi'ne Islands, as signer to The Gregg Company, Ltd., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 14, 1932, Serial no. 605,16? 4 Claims. (01. 105- 382) This invention relates tocars and othervehicles on which side and/or end stakesare usedto re;- tain thereon the load, or the upperportion of the load, of sugar cane, logs, and the like.

The .loss of stakes from cars used, on @suga plantations to transport sugar cane and in logging camps to, transport. logs, either through their accidental misplacement or more often from theft, is amatter of frequent occurrence and not only at times causes serious inconvenience but theureplacement thereof constitutes an item of considerable expense. To prevent such loss it has heretofore been proposed to attach the lower, ends of the stakes by chains or some hinged connection to the frame .of the car, but such means as were adequatefor the purpose have had certain practia caldisadvantages which have also prevented their general adoption and use. The object of my present invention is, toprovide simple and efiicient means for attaching .a stake, of iron, wood or other material, to the frame of a car so that it cannot be removedtherefrom and at the same time can be readily raised and secured in operative position in the usualor any suitable releasing stake-pocket and, when released,,can be lowered and slid under the conveniently stowed away beneath the bottom of thecan,

To this end, the invention comprises, as its principal feature, a tack member secured in horizontal position on the under side of the car body with an end positioned adjacent the bottom of a stake-pocket and a permanent or non-separable running connection between the track member '1 and the stake at its lower end, whereby the lower end of the stake, when the stake is released and lowered, will be supported by and can be slid along upon the track out of the way beneath the car body, together with means for supporting the free upper end of the stake.

The invention is shown, by way of illustration and not of limitation, in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is an end view of the platform of a car, showing a stake locked in operative position on one side thereof; Fig. 2 is a view showing a portion of the car platform and the stake in side elevation; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the stake stowed away under the car platform; Fig. 4 is a side view of another car platform, showing a modification of the invention; and Fig. 5 is a detail thereof, in perspective.

Referring first to the form of my improvements shown in Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings, 1

indicates the platform or underframe of a car, to

the sides or ends, of which are. attached the re.- quired number of releasing stake-pockets 2, only one,of which is shown, and 3 indicates cheer the stakes which is here shown as an iron I-beam. Associated with each stake-pocket and stake is a track member 4, here shown in the form of a rod, which is mounted in substantially horizontal position below and transversely'of. the car, with a vertical arm orend component. 5 riveted to the underframe adjacent to and opposite the center of the stake-pocket. This track member is preferably bent so as to have ,a slight downward and. outward inclination 6 at its ends, for the purpose.

hereinafter stated. The stake is permanently or non-detachabl-y connected to this track member by an eye-, or, as shown, U-bolt '7 riveted to the inner flange of the stake at its lower end. And, for thesupport of the free end of the stake whenreleased, and thrust under the car, a stirrup 8 is fixed to the underframe. The stake-pockets on theopposite sides of the car can either be slightly offset or, if placed directly opposite each other, thetrack' members therefor canbe arranged to extend, across. the car. on. slightly diagonal lines; or the two opposite stakes can be secured to and slidjeupon a, single track member where, as is usuallyzthe case, the stakes are lowered for unloadingfrom one sideonly of the cars.

As ,is obvious, a. stake when raised to vertical position and locked within the stal e-pocket will be supported upon the track member by the U- bolt, and when released from the pocket its upper end can be lowered and its lower end slid through the stirrup and across below the car platform, to be there held in substantially horizontal position and out of the way. The upward inclination of the track member from each end serves to prevent the accidental displacement of the stake by the running of the car when the stake is stowed away in inoperative position; or, if found desirable, a hooked lug 9, attached to the upper end of the stake to cooperate with the stirrup, may be provided for this purpose.

For larger and heavier cars, in which the underframe is carried upon a four-wheel truck at each end, the trucks form obstructions which prevent the stakes at each end from being stowed away transversely of the car, and for such stakes I provide the modification illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, where the track member 14 is arranged longitudinally of the underframe, has a vertical arm or end component 15 which, as before, is loacted adjacent the bottom and opposite the center of the stake-pocket, and from the bottom thereof is bent to extend inwardly for a short distance, at 16, to allow the stake when released to swing outwardly to clear the pocket, after which the stake is swung around and shoved along the track member. Here an open bracket 18 is provided to support the free upper end of the stake, which will lie under the platform with its outer side parallel to and slightly within or substantially flush with the side thereof; and a stirrup-strap 19 is attached to the arms of the bracket to prevent the longitudinal displacement of the stake when withdrawn and in its inoperative position, or, in place thereof a hooked lug can be attached to the stake as shown in Figs. 1 to 3. Through the central portion of a car, intermediate the two trucks, the stakes 3 are arranged with the tracks 4 mounted transversely, as before.

It is to be understood that the invention can be modified in its several details, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the substantial advantages thereof.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a vehicle of the character described, the combination of a plurality of stakes and releasing stake-pockets and means, including an individual track member for each stake mounted and extending horizontally beneath the body of the vehicle with an upturned end adjacent the bottom of and in alignment with a stake pocket and a member rigidly projecting from the inner face of a stake at its lower end and encircling the upturned end of its associated track member when the stake is locked in upright position within the stake pocket and providing a nonseparable running connection between stake and track member when the stake is released from the stake pocket and lowered, for separately stowing away the stakes when released from the stake-pockets in a substantially horizontal position under the vehicle body.

2. A vehicle of the character described comprising, in combination with the underframe and a releasing stake-pocket secured thereto, a stake, a track member mounted and extending horizontally below the level of the underframe with one of its ends upturned adjacent the bottom of the stake-pocket, a bolt with head en- Lesa??? circling the track member rigidly attached to the inner face of the stake at its lower end and providing a non-separable running connection between the stake and track member adapted to support this end of the stake when the stake is released and slid along the track member to an out of the way position below the underframe, and separate means for supporting the free end of the stake so as to hold the stake when so stowed away in a substantially horizontal position.

3. A vehicle of the character described comprising, in combination with the underframe and a releasing stake-pocket secured thereto, a stake, a track member mounted horizontally below the underframe to extend transversely thereof and having an upturned end located adjacent the bottom of the stake-pocket, a non-separable running connection between the lower end of the stake and the track member, and a stirruppiece fixed to the underframe and suitably positioned at the bottom of the stake-pocket, whereby the stake when released from operative position within the stake-pocket and lowered can be slid through the stirrup-piece and along the track member and will be supported thereby in substantially horizontal position beneath the underframe.

4. A vehicle of the character described comprising, in combination with the. underframe and a releasing stake-pocket secured thereto, a stake, a track member mounted below the level of the underframe having an upturned end section located adjacent the bottom of the stake-pocket, an intermediate section extending inwardly from the lower end of said end section and a main horizontal section extending longitudinally of the underframe from the inner end of said intermediate section, a non-separable running connection between the lower end of the stake and the track member adapted to support this end of the stake when released from the stake-pocket and slid along the track member to an out of the way position below the underframe, and means for supporting the free end of the stake to hold the stake substantially, horizontal when in its out of the way position.

HUDSON D. DRAVO. 

